Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

"… Morgana?"

Mary blinked in confusion, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at him strangely.

He was staring at her with an intensity that made her feel as if she had been caught doing something forbidden, as if she was hiding a mask she hadn't even realised she was wearing.

She instinctively glanced behind her, trying to make sense of his words. "Morgana? Where?" she muttered.

Aether rolled his eyes back with deliberate slowness, "Please, don't," he said, as he stepped backwards, keeping his gaze fixed on her.

Mary blinked again, "I am not sure what you are talking about. Did you hurt your head or what… ahah." She chuckled, though the laugh carried more tension than humour.

Aether lifted his eyebrows in a slow shrug, his expression unreadable.

"Well, if that's what you want to believe… then go on." He dropped down onto the stony surface, sitting lazily as if he owned the space. His gaze lifted, meeting her crimson eyes with a piercing calm.

"But I am not speaking unless the real Mary comes."

Mary's expression darkened instantly. Her fingers curled tightly around the prison bars, as her nails dug into the cold iron. A low growl rumbled in her throat.

"Human! I am Mary… do you think I am faking? Do I look like I'm joking? Just tell me already where the hell Grenthollow is!" Her words lashed out.

But Aether didn't answer. He didn't flinch.

He simply sat there in silence, as though nothing in this world mattered to him. His stare was flat, blank, an impenetrable mask that gave away no emotion, no thought.

"AETHER!!!" Mary roared, her voice so sharp and powerful that the walls of the prison shuddered as if her rage alone could shake the foundations of stone.

She was ready to kill him if he kept acting like this—if he kept mocking her, treating her as if she were a fool.

It was really her, she knew that... And yet he was twisting the knife, treating her presence like some cruel game, doing these bitchy little things just to test her patience.

"Do you think just pretending I'm not myself will help you, bitch?" Mary hissed as her crimson gaze locked onto him like a predator's.

Aether, of course, only leaned to the side and picked at his ear as though her fury was nothing more than background noise.

He wasn't going to fall for her tricks. No way... Not again!!

He had learned, and he wasn't going to let himself be deceived by her words.

His indifference made her blood boil even hotter. She wanted to leap through those bars, to rip his smug, detached face apart, to see that blank mask shatter. Her body trembled with the urge to strike him down where he sat.

Yet, instead of lunging, she hissed through her teeth.

"Then rot in here!" she spat dangerously as she turned on her heel and stormed away from the prison cell.

Aether leaned back slightly, his expression unchanging as he watched her figure vanish through the bars.

He didn't say a word. He simply watched her leave, silent, his face as blank as ever.

Thud!

The heavy door slammed shut, its echo rolling through the stone corridor. In the silence that followed, Aether's lips finally curved, stretching into a sly grin that tugged at the corner of his face.

What was he doing?

Was he truly trying to piss her off?

Or was this all part of some deeper plan, one only he knew?

Who could tell?

But still… that sly grin stayed on his face, gleaming faintly in the dim light of the cell.

Meanwhile, Mary walked out of the prison with hurried, echoing steps that struck the corridor floor like a drumbeat. Her body was tense, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"Fucking asshole… just tell the truth already. This is why I hate this kind of annoying people!" she muttered under her breath, her tone vibrating with both fury and frustration.

She was barely keeping it together.

Honestly, she was only doing it for her daughter, who had asked for her… otherwise, there was no way in hell she would have gone to pardon that bastard. He was the very one who had literally drawn the wrath of everyone around him.

When she finally reached her daughter's room, a sigh slipped from her lips. Her chest felt heavy. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to explain any of this to her daughter.

Honestly, she had tried her best, hadn't she?

Come on now! She hadn't even killed him, hadn't even broken him down the way she wanted to. She had basically tried to settle the situation in the simplest way possible.

It was him.... freaking always him... who was pushing, always trying to piss her off, always spitting in her patience.

If anything, her daughter should be proud of what she had done for her!

Shaking her head, she placed her hand against the door and slowly pushed it open. "Darling~" she whispered softly.

As she stepped inside, her eyes immediately softened. There on the bed, her daughter lay peacefully asleep, breathing evenly after having been refreshed.

"Oh?" Mary murmured, tilting her head with mild surprise.

Not that she hadn't expected to find her asleep—but still, seeing her like this stirred something tender inside her. Her eyes softened even more, yet the moment her gaze shifted… it froze.

Another figure.

Mary's expression hardened like steel when her gaze fell upon it… a second form, a blurry shape lying right beside her daughter.

The blurry figure's hand moved in slow, soothing motions, patting Lia's chest with the same care one would give to a small child... soft, tender pats that coaxed her into a deeper sleep.

Mary kneeled down, her own blurriness fading away. The veil dissolved, revealing her true form... face-to-face with the other presence.

A silky-haired figure shimmered into view, strands of soft blue falling like liquid silk.

Morgana.

"How did it go?" The real Mary asked with an indifferent voice as her hand patted her daughter's chest softly.

"Did he agree?"

The only reason she had sent Morgana in her place was simple. She didn't want to face that bastard herself.

The one who had stolen her daughter's heart... and Grenthollow. If she saw him with her own eyes, she might lose all control. She might kill him on the spot.

"He found me, Your Majesty," Morgana said quietly.

"Oh? He found you?" Mary tilted her head, "How? Aren't you supposed to be the one who excels with illusions?" Her voice carried genuine surprise.

Morgana shook her head slowly, lips pressing thin. "Honestly, I don't know. Maybe he was only guessing… but the way he acted, the certainty in his eyes… it felt like he really knew who I was. I'm confused. Even Sovereign herself wouldn't be able to pierce my disguise, much less this man…"

"Hmm… interesting…" Mary muttered, her lips curling into a faint, dangerous smile.

"Does that mean he noticed something? Something about the way you acted? Or maybe… he's been watching me all along, studying every little detail until even the smallest slip gave you away…" Her voice dripped with equal parts confusion and amusement.

Morgana's eyes lowered toward Lia, her expression troubled as she asked quietly, "Are you certain about this, Your Majesty?"

Mary's gaze shifted to her daughter, her hardened expression softening as she gently ruffled Lia's hair. Her lips moved with quiet affection. "She wouldn't wake up… even if the world was destroyed around her. She would still sleep peacefully."

Morgana's face grew grim. Sadness flickered in her expression before she exhaled deeply. Her palms began to glow faintly, light weaving around her fingers. "Well then… let's begin. If this is what you truly desire…"

Mary smiled... soft at first, almost gentle, before her eyes sharpened with a dangerous glint.

"Yeah. Bring him."

"Before she wakes up…" her lips twisted into a chilling grin, "…let's erase his existence! Hehehe~"